No mercy: Israel kills 33 Gazans in 12 hrs; toll since ceasefire 300+
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Deir Al-Balah: A pair of Israeli strikes in Gaza's southern city of Khan Younis early Thursday killed five people, according to hospital officials, bringing the death toll from airstrikes in the Palestinian territory over a roughly 12-hour period to 33. Meanwhile, the total death toll of Palestinians since the US-brokered ceasefire deal came into existence has surpassed the 300 mark, the Associated Press reported.
The Thursday strikes have been some of the deadliest since Oct. 10, when a US-brokered ceasefire came into force.
The renewed escalation came after Israel claimed its soldiers had come under fire in Khan Younis on Wednesday. Israel said no soldiers were killed and responded with strikes.
Officials at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis said they received the bodies of 17 people, including five women and five children, following four Israeli airstrikes targeting tents sheltering displaced people.
In Gaza City, two airstrikes on a building killed 16 people, including seven children and three women, according to officials at the Al-Shifa hospital in the northern part of the city, where the bodies were taken.
Hamas condemned the Israeli strikes as a “shocking massacre.” In a statement, the group denied firing toward Israeli troops.
Hospital officials said the bodies came from both sides of a line established in last month's ceasefire. The boundary splits Gaza in two, leaving the border zone under Israeli military control while the area beyond it is meant to serve as a safe zone.
Israeli strikes have decreased since the ceasefire agreement took effect, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, though they have not stopped entirely.